S03.E06: Mr. Smith Goes To Game Night

[yeswedo]

 

Contestants play party games with celebrities Kevin Smith, Justin Long, Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Pharoah, Elisha Cuthbert and Haley Joel Osment.

 

[BobH]

All first time guests, I think. Only really familiar with Kevin Smith among them, he can be hit or miss, but when he's on he's very entertaining. No reality TV / celebrity chef types, which is always a good sign.

[joanne3482]

Very good final round and good choice for the celebrities for the final. I almost lost it when I realized what Kevin Smith was doing during the music game. Honestly I have no idea what else went on because that is burned into my brain.  

[BobH]

Decent episode, though the winning team so clearly dominated after the first round (Clue Boom, where the scoring is more down to luck than skill) that it wasn't even close.

 

Jay Pharoah ended up being the absolute wrong choice for Where Ya Goin, which was a contrast to Justin Long who played it just about perfectly, even with some less than ideal clues.

 

I found Trading Faces to be surprisingly hard. I was usually still trying to figure out the second name by the time the answer was given, and a few I don't think I'd have gotten at all.

 

Winner made the same choices for the final round that I would have. Justin Long and Elisha Cuthbert did a good job working together, but that was also definitely an easier set of names than last week.

Edited August 12, 2015 by BobH

[tom87]

I  found Trading Faces almost too easy for the show.

 

Most lopsided win in a while the one team totally blew two games.

 

Poor Haley Joel Osment no projects to talk about just his pet lizard. 

[Racj82]

Trading Faces was super easy (except for the Maggie Smith part of the Smiths. Don't know who that is).

 

Jay blew the taxi game hard. Most of it was on him.

 

You have to be quick with that buzzer. I felt like who buzzed in on the trading faces first was kind of questionable at points.

 

I try not to judge too hard on the rewind game. It's probably hard to not get in your own head and screw up there.

 

CHOCOLATE RAIN! was my favorite part.

[BW Manilowe]

Trading Faces was super easy (except for the Maggie Smith part of the Smiths. Don't know who that is).

Jay blew the taxi game hard. Most of it was on him.

You have to be quick with that buzzer. I felt like who buzzed in on the trading faces first was kind of questionable at points.

I try not to judge too hard on the rewind game. It's probably hard to not get in your own head and screw up there.

CHOCOLATE RAIN! was my favorite part.

Maggie Smith--actually Dame Maggie Smith--is a much-honored British actress. In the US, she's won (among others) a Tony Award, 3 Emmys, & 2 Oscars (& is 1 of only 6 actresses to win Oscars in *both* the Lead & Supporting Actress categories--she won the Lead Actress Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie & the Supporting Actress Oscar for the "Academy Awards" segment, playing opposite Sir Michael Caine, in Neil Simon's California Suite).

In film, I think she's also fairly well-known as the Mother Superior of the convent where Whoopi Goldberg's Vegas lounge singer character is put into witness protection, after witnessing a "hit" performed by her mobster boyfriend, in Sister Act (she also appeared in Sister Act II as the same character).

I think, right now, she's best-known for her current role as the Dowager Countess in PBS' Downton Abbey, a role for which she won 2 of her Emmys.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dame_Maggie_Smith

[swimmyfish]

That was a really great episode, I thought. Trading Faces was surprisingly difficult - I could generally decipher one celebrity, but I could not figure out the second one before the answer was provided.

 

Jay Pharoah was probably the weakest link out of all the celebs, but his genuine excitement when the civilian won the final round was pretty nice to see.

 

Most awkward moment was how, well, awkwardly, Justin Long and Elisha Cuthbert avoided describing Viola Davis as black. It's okay to say she's black, you guys; you're not going to be shocking anyone by saying that.

[sugarbaker design]

Jay Pharoah was probably the weakest link out of all the celebs, but his genuine excitement when the civilian won the final round was pretty nice to see.

 

I didn't read that "excitement" as genuine, he was going for a cheap laugh.

 

If I were that science teacher I'd be pissed, stuck with those three bozos!

[Racj82]

Maggie Smith--actually Dame Maggie Smith--is a much-honored British actress. In the US, she's won (among others) a Tony Award, 3 Emmys, & 2 Oscars (& is 1 of only 6 actresses to win Oscars in *both* the Lead & Supporting Actress categories--she won the Lead Actress Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie & the Supporting Actress Oscar for the "Academy Awards" segment, playing opposite Sir Michael Caine, in Neil Simon's California Suite).

In film, I think she's also fairly well-known as the Mother Superior of the convent where Whoopi Goldberg's Vegas lounge singer character is put into witness protection, after witnessing a "hit" performed by her mobster boyfriend, in Sister Act (she also appeared in Sister Act II as the same character).

I think, right now, she's best-known for her current role as the Dowager Countess in PBS' Downton Abbey, a role for which she won 2 of her Emmys.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dame_Maggie_Smith

That's great. I still don't know who she is. It's fine. As pop culture savy as I can be, I don't know everyone out there. Especially people who's primary work is in another country. And I will never give a damn about Downton Abbey. The oldest nun is the Sister Act is the only one I don't remember by face or name.

Jay was just being silly in the end but did seem to be getting real serious in the last game so at least he wasn't phoning it in.

With the last game, I think she always go with gender and race first. Just simply to thin out the amount of answers. Just saying actress means you got think about every actress for way too long.

ETA: I have never watched one Harry Potter movie and never plan to. These are reasons why Maggie Smith is a name I will never be able to pull up.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Racj82

[bybrandy]

Maggie Smith was McGonagall in all of the Harry Potter movies.   

 

I agree.  They should have gone with gender and race.  And it would have helped if they'd mentioned the name of aforementioned, "oh she has a new show."

Edited August 12, 2015 by bybrandy

[Racj82]

It is fun watching some celebs not be able to name projects and stuff for working actors of color that aren't the biggest stars. Viola Davis has had a Oscar nomination. starring in movies for years and How to Get Away with Murder was one of the three biggest new shows last year. But, hey, I am black so I wonder if that plays a part. I mean no offense here but it's funny watching who is a household name within households of different races. Like that bit on the Chappelle Show where they were mocking Trading Spouses and the black man who switched to a white family had no idea who Renee Zelwidger is.

 

I use to do a little exercise years ago. One time I was talking about the actor Terrance Howard. This was back when he just did Iron Man and was getting praise for Crash and Hustle and Flow. A guy I was talking to who was white and no idea who he was. I read off all of his biggest movies. Nothing. The man has been working since the mid 90's. As soon as I said the black dude from Iron Man, he got it. So, I would ask my white co workers if they knew Howard from time to time. No one ever knew until I said the black dude in Iron Man. He was one of the biggest stars in the world and he was still the black dude in Iron Man. To be fair, outside of Robert Downey Jr., I know a lot of black people that wouldn't be able to name one of the male Avengers by their actual name even though they are all huge stars now.

[Primetimer]

Long stands out as the best player on a strong team that loses points with this commentator after Kevin Smith...well, you'll see.

Read the story

[Morgan of Hed]

Mallrats 2, Kevin? Really?

[smrou]

As pop culture savy as I can be, I don't everyone out there.

Kinda like how some people aren't that familiar with Ariana Grande. Or Sienna Miller. I could list a whole bunch of Maggie Smith roles, however! 

 

Having said that, I did not recognize her in that pictures game. In general I do poorly at the visual games, I think. Well, not the ones that are like movie posters, but ones that rely on recognizing faces. The one where they mash two faces together, this one, and Lil' Picassos are all games I pretty much suck at. At least this one had the advantage that if I could work out one of the people I could use their name to figure out the other. So, for example, The Owen/Rebel Wilson one was super easy, I thought. And a couple others were pretty easy, but I didn't think the game as a whole was overly easy. 

 

Jay Pharoah was just TERRIBLE at Where Ya Goin. Holy crap. So bad. 

[Racj82]

Kinda like how some people aren't that familiar with Ariana Grande. Or Sienna Miller. I could list a whole bunch of Maggie Smith roles, however!

Having said that, I did not recognize her in that pictures game. In general I do poorly at the visual games, I think. Well, not the ones that are like movie posters, but ones that rely on recognizing faces. The one where they mash two faces together, this one, and Lil' Picassos are all games I pretty much suck at. At least this one had the advantage that if I could work out one of the people I could use their name to figure out the other. So, for example, The Owen/Rebel Wilson one was super easy, I thought. And a couple others were pretty easy, but I didn't think the game as a whole was overly easy.

Jay Pharoah was just TERRIBLE at Where Ya Goin. Holy crap. So bad.

I guess you are referring to last week. I don't anyone here said the Miller one should have been in the game at all. But, in terms of pop stars in this current landscape Grande is one of the biggest so her being in it didn't seem wrong to me. With Maggie Smith, it's not even about not knowing her roles, I don't know her name. That mixed with the changed up pictures made sure I wouldn't know that one. But, they shouldn't all be obvious. That's was just the one I had nothing for. No idea.

[peeayebee]

CHOCOLATE RAIN! was my favorite part.

Yup. That was excellent. BTW, when Jane was talking about Brandon T. Jackson in 'Tropical Thunder,' I could have sworn she said 'Chocolate Thunder.' I'll have to rewatch.

 

Most awkward moment was how, well, awkwardly, Justin Long and Elisha Cuthbert avoided describing Viola Davis as black. It's okay to say she's black, you guys; you're not going to be shocking anyone by saying that.

Amen. That's why I loved when someone -- I'm drawing a blank right now -- in a previous ep said the person in the clue was black. There's no need to do all sorts of contortions to avoid saying that. Loved when during Elisha's little interview bit everyone but Jay and Brandon said they were Catholic, and Jane said, "Everybody's catholic except for the two black dudes."

 

I've always enjoyed Justin Long, so I was glad to see how he excelled at the games. He rocked "Where Ya Goin?"

 

In Clue-Boom, could we always hear ticking that gets faster and faster? If so, I've never noticed it before.

 

In Be Kind, Rewind, I thought the titles would always be four words, so when the Snow White clue was read, I was thinking they were going for one of the Snow White reboots, like Snow White and The Huntsman or whatever (even though that's five words, if that's even the right title). 

 

I didn't get all of the Trading Faces. Some were more recognizable than others. I also wondered if some of the faces were actually flipped. Patrick Stewart's, in particular, looked like it had been. Also, I don't know what was going on with my head, but I guessed Miley Cyrus for the Rebel Wilson face. What? I don't know. Owen Wilson and... Miley Wilson? I have no idea what I was thinking. It didn't even look all that much like Miley.

 

I will always put I Say A Little Prayer with Dionne Warwick. I don't know why the show chose to say "by Aretha Franklin" instead. 

 

Fun show. I want to play.

Edited August 12, 2015 by peeayebee

[dirtydi]

The "chocolate rain" answer and Kevin Smith's and Justin Long's reaction to it was hilarious.

Speaking of reactions, Justin Long's puke face reaction to Kevin doing the vibrator charades had me laughing for 5 minutes.

Edited August 12, 2015 by dirtydi

[BW Manilowe]

Yup. That was excellent. BTW, when Jane was talking about Brandon T. Jackson in 'Tropical Thunder,' I could have sworn she said 'Chocolate Thunder.' I'll have to rewatch.

Amen. That's why I loved when someone -- I'm drawing a blank right now -- in a previous ep said the person in the clue was black. There's no need to do all sorts of contortions to avoid saying that. Loved when during Elisha's little interview bit everyone but Jay and Brandon said they were Catholic, and Jane said, "Everybody's catholic except for the two black dudes."

I've always enjoyed Justin Long, so I was glad to see how he excelled at the games. He rocked "Where Ya Goin?"

In Clue-Boom, could we always hear ticking that gets faster and faster? If so, I've never noticed it before.

In Be Kind, Rewind, I thought the titles would always be four words, so when the Snow White clue was read, I was thinking they were going for one of the Snow White reboots, like Snow White and The Huntsman or whatever (even though that's five words, if that's even the right title).

I didn't get all of the Trading Faces. Some were more recognizable than others. I also wondered if some of the faces were actually flipped. Patrick Stewart's, in particular, looked like it had been. Also, I don't know what was going on with my head, but I guessed Miley Cyrus for the Rebel Wilson face. What? I don't know. Owen Wilson and... Miley Wilson? I have no idea what I was thinking. It didn't even look all that much like Miley.

I will always put I Say A Little Prayer with Dionne Warwick. I don't know why the show chose to say "by Aretha Franklin" instead.

Fun show. I want to play.

I associate I Say a Little Prayer with Dionne Warwick too. Much more than Aretha Franklin, anyway.

I know you probably mean you'd like to play the game on TV, but if you have a smartphone & haven't heard yet, I've heard announcements--I think attached to their episode promos, as opposed to on the actual show--that they now have a show-related app, which sounds, to me, like you can use it to play along with the show. I'm not sure if it's free (probably doubtful) or if it's currently available from both iTunes App Store & Google Play or just 1 of those stores.

[Violet Penner]

I got Owen Wilson and then for some reason went to either Carnie or Wendy Wilson (I blame having just seen them on the Barefoot Contessa special).

Was expecting Elisha to be much worse than she actually was (though I wouldn't call her a super star). I only know her from her "being trapped by a cougar" days of 24.

Was very impressed with the Kevin/Haley/Justin team. They killed the backward title game!

I wish more of my friends liked playing games. Watching this show and listening to Joe and Tara makes me want to find new friends and have more game nights.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Violet Penner

[Irlandesa]

It is fun watching some celebs not be able to name projects and stuff for working actors of color that aren't the biggest stars. Viola Davis has had a Oscar nomination. starring in movies for years and How to Get Away with Murder was one of the three biggest new shows last year.

 

So, I would ask my white co workers if they knew Howard from time to time. No one ever knew until I said the black dude in Iron Man.

This is the second week where there was something associated with How To Get Away With Murder and the clue givers seemed to hit a brick wall in describing it.  TV is pretty pervasive.  Assuming one watches live TV from time to time, people likely see a commercial for the TV show even if they don't watch the TV show.  And Howard will now be better known for Empire. 

 

In Clue-Boom, could we always hear ticking that gets faster and faster? If so, I've never noticed it before.

Yep.

 

Trading Faces was hard for me.  That is not my strong suit so I was darn impressed with the Long, Smith & Osmont group.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Irlandesa

[Black Knight]

It is fun watching some celebs not be able to name projects and stuff for working actors of color that aren't the biggest stars. Viola Davis has had a Oscar nomination. starring in movies for years and How to Get Away with Murder was one of the three biggest new shows last year.

Viola has two Oscar nominations, and what I found really interesting is the reference Elisha Cuthbert pulled was for her first nomination - supporting actress for Doubt, which hardly anyone saw. But I liked that if Cuthbert could only come up with one film reference for Davis, it was for Doubt and not The Help.

Amen. That's why I loved when someone -- I'm drawing a blank right now -- in a previous ep said the person in the clue was black. There's no need to do all sorts of contortions to avoid saying that. Loved when during Elisha's little interview bit everyone but Jay and Brandon said they were Catholic, and Jane said, "Everybody's catholic except for the two black dudes."

It's happened twice this season so far - first when Cheryl Hines said it for Serena Williams, and second when Constance Zimmer said it for Kevin Hart. In both cases that was what enabled the civilian to get the name from the broader descriptions of "tennis player" and "short comedian." Given Jane's joke and the Chocolate Rain guess, I'm surprised that Long and Cuthbert were still so nervous about it. They also wouldn't mention Melissa McCarthy's weight (whereas Hines had no problem saying "big girl" for Adele), and that's the second time that her name has come up with the cluegiver(s) doing contortions not to mention it.

 

This lineup of games would have been pretty close to my nightmare scenario were I a contestant - I don't know song titles, and a mere change in hairstyle is enough to make me not recognize someone, so I would have absolutely suuuuuuuucked at those games. The only way it could possibly be worse is if Doo Doo were also one of the games.

 

I felt sorry for Jillian. Early on when two of her teammates in a row blew Be Kind, Rewind, it looked to me like she was barely restraining herself from killing the guys. But then she seemed to accept her fate, settle in and just concentrate on having fun.

 

And props to Elisha for one of the more functional outfits I've seen a female wear on the show - especially notable because she's younger. The other functional outfits I recall seeing have been on older women.

[Rinaldo]

Was expecting Elisha to be much worse than she actually was (though I wouldn't call her a super star). I only know her from her "being trapped by a cougar" days of 24.

I understand (and would have shared) the impression of her based on that show. But in her three years on Happy Endings, she revealed a real comic spark and avidity that let her play alongside some pretty strong talents in that area. I wouldn't call her a superstar either, but from her team (admittedly not a high bar, alas) she was undoubtedly the right choice for the final round.

 

It's happened twice this season so far - first when Cheryl Hines said it for Serena Williams, and second when Constance Zimmer said it for Kevin Hart. In both cases that was what enabled the civilian to get the name from the broader descriptions of "tennis player" and "short comedian." Given Jane's joke and the Chocolate Rain guess, I'm surprised that Long and Cuthbert were still so nervous about it. 

If I may presume to speculate on someone else's thinking (I'm extrapolating from what goes through my own mind on occasion), they hesitate because they know they haven't been describing all the white celebrities as such, so if they single out someone as black, they're treating whiteness as the default. Such are the knots in which people can tie themselves.

[Black Knight]

Very true.

 

And on a tangential note - what was up with their "clues" for Scarlett Johanssen? I just un-deleted the episode so I could check the wording, and it was literally, "She's very sexual, very sensual" (which could fit half of celebdom) and "beautiful lips" (which got the obvious guess of Angelina Jolie). They did finally come up with a specific reference - Black Widow - but by then the civilian had already passed (and I don't blame her, given how terrible the clues had been - she reasonably expected that this was going to suck up a lot of time at the rate they were going).

[peeayebee]

I know you probably mean you'd like to play the game on TV...

No, not play on TV, but play with other people IRL at a party. 

 

They also wouldn't mention Melissa McCarthy's weight (whereas Hines had no problem saying "big girl" for Adele), and that's the second time that her name has come up with the cluegiver(s) doing contortions not to mention it.

TBH, while I wouldn't have any problem saying, for instance about Denzel, "This is a black actor," I'd be uncomfortable saying, re Melissa McCarthy, "She's a big girl," or whatever. It sounded perfectly fine when Cheryl Hines identified Adele as a big girl, but it feels wrong somehow to give clues focusing on MM's weight. I'm not sure why. Actually, I don't think it would be necessary because she's been in such high-profile movies and TV shows. Bridesmaids, Mike & Molly, The Heat, Spy, hosted SNL a couple of times.

 

And on a tangential note - what was up with their "clues" for Scarlett Johanssen? 

This was very annoying. I suppose for many people the first thing they think of re SJ is that she's gorgeous and sensual, but like you said, that doesn't narrow it down much. They dwelt too long on her looks. If I were playing, and had my wits about me, I'd probably start by saying she plays Black Widow in the Avengers movies, then maybe that she starred in Lucy, and she was in Lost in Translation with Bill Murray. Anyway, starting with her looks just got things off to a confusing start. 

Edited August 13, 2015 by peeayebee

[Black Knight]

Black Widow, yes, and then I would have mentioned her exes Ryan Reynolds and Sean Penn, as the civilian nailed it the other times celebrity relationship clues were given.

[Morgan of Hed]

If you can't get it from Black Widow, Lucy and Lost in Translation, mayhap that's the wrong game for you.  How about "first name means 'Red'"?

[DkNNy79]

Haven't watched yet, but my co-worker's wife is the civilian on the Kevin Smith, Justin Long and Hayley Joel Osment team.  He gave us a heads up at the end of July that she was going to be on.  I don't know him really well, he works in our small Chicago office.

[Kel Varnsen]

Poor Haley Joel Osment no projects to talk about just his pet lizard.

On the other hand for Elisha Cuthbert they had to bring up a show that had already been canceled by the time the episode aired (One big happy). Not sure which is worse.

[opus]

 

I agree.  They should have gone with gender and race.  

With 25 grand on the line I'm playing the race card, the sexuality card, whatever card gets it done.

[Kel Varnsen]

With 25 grand on the line I'm playing the race card, the sexuality card, whatever card gets it done.

Plus i think most celebs know who they are.I mean if Melissa Mccarthy was wathcing the show would she be surprised if someone referred to her as w biiger lady? Or would Denzel be surprised to find out people knew he was black?

[jhlipton]

You have to be quick with that buzzer. I felt like who buzzed in on the trading faces first was kind of questionable at points.

 

The buzzer seemed off on Rewind.  A couple of people on Science Teacher's team kept tapping it while Jane was speaking (as in Jeopardy, you are locked out until the clue is finished), but it looked like they still tapped first.  Since it's a quiz show and money is involved, Standards and Practices needs to be all over that.

 

Very true.

 

And on a tangential note - what was up with their "clues" for Scarlett Johanssen?.

 

My first thought was Lost in Translation.  For Viola Davis "Black Actress in How To Get Away With Murder".  

[smrou]

And on a tangential note - what was up with their "clues" for Scarlett Johanssen? I just un-deleted the episode so I could check the wording, and it was literally, "She's very sexual, very sensual" (which could fit half of celebdom) and "beautiful lips" (which got the obvious guess of Angelina Jolie).

These clues were, like, offensively bad. I mean basically they're like, "She's real fuckable!"

 

In general I'm frequently surprised by how long it takes the clue-givers to mention a single movie or TV credit. Don't dilly-dally, folks. Throw out race and sex and then get to listing roles (if it's an actor). Like, it would probably be better to pause for a second and try to think of a couple of roles rather than jumping right in immediately with generic descriptions like, "Really attractive" or "Great actor". 

[Racj82]

The buzzer seemed off on Rewind.  A couple of people on Science Teacher's team kept tapping it while Jane was speaking (as in Jeopardy, you are locked out until the clue is finished), but it looked like they still tapped first.  Since it's a quiz show and money is involved, Standards and Practices needs to be all over that.

 

 

My first thought was Lost in Translation.  For Viola Davis "Black Actress in How To Get Away With Murder". 

I have no problem with the black actress clue but I wouldn't even need that in this case. I don't know any other actor by name (series regulars) by name and in a lot of way she IS that show. It's interesting with Viola though. She's a amazing actress but she doesn't have many roles or huge movies where your like "Oh, yes THAT is the Viola Davis performance". She will be a iconic comic book character (Amanda Waller/The Wall) soon so maybe that will help as a go to role in terms of popularity.

[Lovecat]

CHOCOLATE RAIN!!!  is the new BABY FISH MOUTH!!!!

 

I hear them talking...

[smrou]

I have no problem with the black actress clue but I wouldn't even need that in this case. I don't know any other actor by name (series regulars) by name and in a lot of way she IS that show.

I agree. Any physical description is unnecessary when someone is THE star of a big show. Name the show and you've got the actor. Unless the guesser just doesn't know about the show, in which case you're probably out of luck even with physical descriptions. Sadly in this case it seemed neither clue-giver could come up with the name of the show, which mostly just strikes me as weird and surprising.

[jhlipton]

I agree. Any physical description is unnecessary when someone is THE star of a big show. Name the show and you've got the actor. Unless the guesser just doesn't know about the show, in which case you're probably out of luck even with physical descriptions. Sadly in this case it seemed neither clue-giver could come up with the name of the show, which mostly just strikes me as weird and surprising.

 

They were able to get her to say the name by telling her the first name was like a violin, which I thought was a bit clever, even if it shouldn't have been necessary.

[Pjxf99]

I've always felt like I was good at pop culture stuff until the last few years. I couldn't go on this show now because I'm getting old and can't come up with names as fast as I used to! But also, I don't watch a lot of new movies and have no interest in the comic book movies or sci-fi, and I know nothing about current music.  I never would have gotten Chris Pine or Ariana Grande. Ever. Even if they were on the opposing team:-)

 

Still love watching it!